A recent NSW Ministry of Health investigation into the risk to humans of tuberculosis (TB) from animals at Taronga Zoo has found there is no risk to visitors and there are no cases of tuberculosis among zoo staff.

The investigation followed the Zoo’s diagnosis of TB in an elephant in 2010 and a chimpanzee in 2011.

Health experts found that any potential risk of exposure to tuberculosis had been limited to those staff who worked in close proximity to the infectious elephant and the risk to other staff and visitors to the zoo was negligible.

Currently, there are no animals or people identified with active tuberculosis disease at the Zoo, and visitors are not at risk of infection.

Over 200 animals at the Zoo have been tested and none were found to have active TB.

The elephant has completed a 12 month course of treatment and is being monitored to ensure she is cured.

After the euthanasia last year of the chimpanzee diagnosed with the disease, Taronga veterinarians took the precaution of placing all the other chimpanzees on treatment. Further testing earlier this year found this precaution was no longer necessary.